Miss Arizona visits Yuma County

Pageant queen stops by News 11 after touring U.S. Mexico Border, San Luis, and Somerton - Cody Lee reports

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) - Miss Arizona Amber Barto spent the last few days in Yuma County focusing on the current immigration crisis happening at our Southern border. Her main goal was to see Arizona's third-largest metropolitan city first-hand.

Barto started off her Yuma trip by crowning a new Miss Yuma County and Miss Yuma County's Outstanding Teen all part of the Yuma Scholarship Program.

"They are so talented and so exciting! I am really looking forward to seeing what they're going to accomplish on the Miss Arizona stage and in the community of Yuma," Miss Arizona said.

As a representative for the state, Barto says she’s coming to experience what it’s like for migrants crossing into the U.S.

She says it’s important to have a balance between humanitarian policy and regulations that make sure people are crossing the right way.

“I actually had the opportunity to take immigration law as well as speak to the Cochise County sheriff too about immigration policy which down there it’s a big issue too. Now that I got into experiencing the border I really think we just need to find a way to achieve that balance of making sure we're continuing to provide humanitarian efforts to these people as well as providing them an actual way of coming into the country legally,” Barto explained.

Watch Cody Lee's exclusive interview in its entirety:

Barto tells News 11 ever since she was Miss Arizona's Outstanding Teen when she was 15 years old, people have asked her about the border on a national level.

She also stopped in Somerton and made several appearances at local schools and senior living centers.

Barto is heading to the Miss America competition where she plans to stand firm on her platform - leadership through service.

She strives to bring awareness to the importance of volunteering in your community and in doing so she’s raised over 300-thousand dollars across the state.